Code: Mutant
by ToukaGhoul
Summary: "Delivered from France. To: Ulrich. From: Franz and Aelita!" He turned his head to stare at April in shock before he turned back to the paper. "Hope you enjoy the gift we found for you. Be good for Splinter and Mr. O'Neil. Hope to visit you soon. Love Franz and Aelita. PS: Hope you like the extra gift we left for you," Rated T & up for later chapters. UxY AxJ OxSam CxA/DxA
1. Chapter 1

Ulrich yawned and stretched out across the hard stone ground, feeling his long black claws scrape against the aged, broken, and cracked rock face. "Tired over there, Ulrich?" a humanoid turtle wearing a blue headband and carrying two katanas strapped to the back of its shell asked from where it was sitting a few feet away in front of an old couch with a book lying in its lap.

"Vielleicht ," the young hybrid growled.

"But why? You haven't done anything but lie around all day," another turtle, wearing a purple headband with a Bo staff strapped to its shell pointed out in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Yeah. What's the matter, Ul-rich?" a third turtle, wearing an orange headband with nunchucks and a kusarigama strapped to its sides asked. "Is the little house dog feeling a bit bored? Does the little house dog wanna – Aaah!" The young turtle screamed as a sharpened fang-like blade the length of a wooden drumstick came sailing towards him, forcing him to duck and take cover behind a second couch. The fang whizzed over the couch and embedded itself into the wall near the turtle with the purple band's head.

"Aah!" he cried, falling out of the stool he had been sitting in next to a long table that stood next to him. "Ow! Watch where you're throwin' that thing will ya?!" Ulrich glared and snorted at him as he sat up, his hind-claws clicking loudly against the stone ground.

"Yeah, what Donnie said! You could have takin' my head off du –!" The orange headband-wearing turtle felt his eyes widen as Ulrich turned his head to stare at him. The glare the young wolf was giving him sent chills down the young turtle's back and he snapped his jaw shut, shutting up instantly. A laugh nearby made Ulrich turn his head to where the blue headband-wearing turtle was still sitting on the ground near the first couch.

"Wow, Mikey! I've never seen you shut up so fast before!"

"Well, what do you expect to me to do?!" cried the younger turtle. "Unlike you guys, I can't argue with him for as long as I want or else he'll hack my head off my shoulders!"

"Very descriptive," Donnie said, walking over and leaning against the back of the couch where Mikey stood. He unsheathed Ulrich's fangblade from a strap on his right hip and tossed it back to him. The young wolf caught it with ease and slid it back into the sheathe on his left hip.

"Hey, you guys, we're back!" sang a voice. The four young mutants turned their heads to the far side of the room where a young girl with blue eyes and long orange hair tied back in a low ponytail walked in carrying two large brown paper bags. She wore a yellow and white short-sleeved t-shirt on top of a longer-sleeved black shirt, short denim jean shorts on top of black tights, and brown boots that came up to the middle of her shins. She also wore a brown wristband on each wrist. Donnie's face lit up and he ran over to her so that he could help her with her bags.

"April, thank goodness you're okay!" The young teenage girl shot him a playful yet doubtful glance.

"What? Didn't think I'd come back alive?" she asked.

"Well, uh, no. But I did think you wouldn't come back in one piece to be honest,"

"Aw, what's the matter, Donnie? Don't you trust me to take care of your girlfriend?" April and Donnie both turned around as a turtle wearing a red headband and carrying twin sai strapped to his sides stepped into the room with four more brown bags in his arms. He grinned teasingly at his brother and April began to snicker at Donnie's surprised face.

"S-Sh— She's not my girlfriend!" he finally managed to splutter, his cheeks turning a bright pink.

"Yet," Mikey teasingly added from where he now sat next to the blue headband-wearing turtle on the floor. They both busted out laughing and high-fived each other.

"Nice one, Mikey!"

"Thank you, Leo!" The red headband-wearing turtle and April laughed along with them as they set their bags down on the table where Donnie had been sitting earlier… before he had fallen out of his chair. The young purple headband-wearing turtle swiveled his head around to glare at his three brothers.

"S-Sh-Shut up all of you! It's not funny!" he cried, his face now glowing a bright cherry red.

"Wrong! It is so funny!" cried Leo.

"Very funny!" added Mikey.

"Absolutely funny!" finished the red-banded turtle, who had fallen onto the couch and was laughing up a storm. April rolled her eyes at the quarreling brothers before she turned her head to stare at Ulrich, who had walked away from the others and was now sitting perched on a large flat and aged stone pillar that stretched a little over five feet into the air. The young girl turned and walked over to him, where she sat next to him.

"You okay, Ulrich?" The young wolf shrugged his furry shoulders.

"Gut, ich denke," he mumbled.

"What's the matter?" asked April (she's learned to translate German to English with the help of Master Splinter, who is the main Translator to the young wolf whenever they are talking to the Turtle Brothers; Donnie also knows how to translate from German to English, courtesy of Master Splinter) . He shrugged and scratched at the cracked and broken stone with his claws.

"Nichts, nur gelangweilt,"

"Feeling the cabin fever again?" He nodded at April's words and huffed. "Well, don't worry, maybe Splinter will let you go up to the surface today,"

"Bezweifle es," Ulrich snorted. "Er hat mich niemals gehen lassen dort oben. Er hat mich nicht lassen nichts zu tun, da Aelita und ihr Vater links, um auf dieser Reise nach Frankreich gehen,"

"Well, he just wants to keep you safe. After all, he did promise Franz that he'd watch after you until he returned –"

"Und das war, wie lange das her?" Ulrich interrupted, turning his head to stare at her, his amber-flecked eyes gleaming.

"Um… a little over a year ago?" the young girl guessed, feeling a tad clueless. The young wolf shook his head and went back to scratching at the stone below him.

"Nein, es war vor zehn Jahren. Ich war fünf - fast sechs - wenn Franz und Aelita links. Ich bin jetzt fünfzehn.," April's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock.

"It's been that long since they left?" Ulrich nodded, holding back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. "Oh, Ulrich, I'm so sorry," April whispered. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him gently in a hug. He whimpered and rested his chin on her shoulder, his eyes burning. She pulled away and gently ruffled his ears. "Don't worry, they'll come back. I'm sure of it," The young wolf sadly gazed down at her.

"Denken Sie?"

"Of course," she confidently replied. "My dad and Splinter told me that when they found you, Franz, and Aelita that you guys were practically family, even though you were a failed experiment in a top secret governmental lab," She playfully ruffled his ears again and his tongue lolled out his mouth in a happy pant. "They'll come back for you, I just know it. They wouldn't leave you behind for no reason,"

"Wirklich? " Ulrich asked.

"Guarantee it," April nodded. She held her hand up and he smiled, pressing his own furry-clawed hand to hers. She smiled and ruffled his ears once more before she turned and jumped off from her spot near the young wolf. "Now c'mere, I wanna show you what I got for you," She walked back over to the table and grabbed one of the bags, she searched through its contents before she pulled out a small cardboard box. She turned back around only to bump into Ulrich's chest.

"Entschuldigung," he apologized, taking a step back. The young girl smiled.

"It's okay," She looked up at him with slightly widened eyes. "Wow, how tall are you?" asked. The young wolf's snout crinkled and his bright eyes took on a thoughtful look.

"Ich weiß nicht ... aber das letzte Mal überprüft ich etwa sieben war - fast acht - Fuß genau," April's eyes widened.

"And that was how long ago?"

"Zurück etwa einen Monat, vielleicht zwei oder so. Geben oder nehmen ein paar Tage,"

"And you're how old again? Now?" she added.

"Fünfzehn ,"

"Wow, you must've at least grown another foot or so since then,"

"Wirklich? Haben Sie nicht bemerken. Was ist in der Box?" Ulrich asked, pointing to the small cube in her arms.

"Oh, right," April giggled. She held up to him. "It's for you. I found it in my mailbox on the way back," The young wolf's eyes brightened and gently took the box from her. Ripping the tape off with a claw, he opened up the box and ruffled through the sea of foam peanuts before he felt something brush against the tips of his claws. Gripping the object in his hand he pulled it out. His eyes widened and his jaw fell open in shock. In his left hand he clutched a black string with a gray wolf – carved out of pure onyx – and a brown wolf – carved out of pure brown Topaz. Both wolves were fashioned to look like the traditional Yin-Yang symbol with tiny white pearl beads threaded throughout the length of the black string. He smiled.

"Wow!" he whispered. "Wo hast du das gefunden?"

"I didn't," He turned his head to stare at April in surprise.

"Dann wo hast du es bekommen?" She smiled and pointed to the box that lay on the table.

"Read that note on the side of the box," The wolf stared at her doubtfully before he turned and gently placed the bandana on the table. He then grabbed the box and lifted it up, turning it around in a full circle before he found the note that lay taped to the cardboard's right side.

"Aus Frankreich geliefert. Zu: Ulrich. Von: Franz und Aelita!" He turned his head to stare at April in shock before he turned back to the paper. "Hoffnung genießen Sie den Geschenk, das wir für Sie gefunden. Denke nicht, dass wir hätten dich vergessen. Seien Sie gut für Splinter und Herr O'Neil. Wir hoffen, Sie bald zu besuchen. Liebe Franz und Aelita. PS: Hoffe, dass Sie die zusätzliche Gabe, die wir gerne für Sie hinterlassen ," He stared at the little note a minute longer before he put the box back on the table and began digging through the rest of the foam peanuts. He had thrown out a little more than half the airy pellets before he caught sight of a small square piece of paper on the bottom of the box. Reaching for it, Ulrich soon realized that it wasn't a piece of paper but a photo. Flipping it over, his mouth fell open in shock and his eyes widened. In the photo it showed Franz and Aelita in a large park with short-cropped lush green grass and tall, bulky-looking oak trees. The pair sat in front of a large tree with Franz sitting in a cross-legged position with Aelita sitting behind him on her knees with her arms around his neck. Both had big smiles etched across their faces as if they had been joking or laughing about something before the photo had been taken. Ulrich smiled as he continued to look down at the photo, his eyes swelling with tears of happiness. Franz looked exactly the same except his beard and mustache were a bit longer and bushier. He wore the same red sweater with the white lab coat opened on top, brown pants, and black dress shoes that he had been wearing on the day he left. Behind him, Aelita wore a pink t-shirt underneath a denim jacket, purple capris, and pink converse. She also wore a red wristband on her right wrist. Ulrich gently rubbed a claw over the photo before he placed it on the table in front of him. He then turned and grabbed the necklace off the wooden surface and slipped it over his head, pausing only when the string caught in the fur off his ruff. While he was busy trying to untangle that, April leaned towards the table and looked down at the photo and she too began to smile. Ulrich turned back to her and smiled, his brand new necklace hanging down from his neck, the finely crafted jewels gleaming gleaming brightly in the brightly lit room. The gray wolf's eyes were made out of sapphire and the brown's were out of emerald; both pairs were shining brilliantly. Ulrich then leaned forward and gently wrapped April in a brotherly hug. "Danke, A ," he whispered. She smiled and ruffled his ears.

"You're welcome, Ul," she replied smiling back up at him. A sudden shout made both teens turn to the center of the room. Donnie and Mikey were on the floor scuffling in a play fight while Leo and the red-banded turtle sat nearby on the couch laughing up a storm.

"Get 'em, Mikey!"

"C'mon, Donnie, pin 'em!" Ulrich turned to look at April with a look of disbelief, which she returned.

"Will they ever stop fighting?" she asked. The young wolf shook his head and ran his claws through the thick fur on his head.

"Ehrlich? Ich bezweifle es ernst,"

* * *

German to English

**1.** Vielleicht - (maybe)

**2.** Gut, ich denke ( fine, I guess)

**3.** Nichts, nur gelangweilt (nothing just bored)

**4.** Bezweifle es (doubt it) ... Er hat mich niemals gehen lassen dort oben. Er hat mich nicht lassen nichts zu tun, da Aelita und ihr Vater links, um auf dieser Reise nach Frankreich gehen (He's never let me go up there. He hasn't let me do anything since Aelita and her father left to go on that trip to France)

**5.** Und das war, wie lange das her? (And that was how long ago)

**6.** Nein, es war vor zehn Jahren. Ich war fünf - fast sechs - wenn Franz und Aelita links. Ich bin jetzt fünfzehn. (No, it was ten years ago. I was five – almost six – when Franz and Aelita left. I'm fifteen now)

**7.** Denken Sie? (You think?)

**8.** Wirklich? (really?)

**9.** Entschuldigung (sorry)

**10.** Ich weiß nicht ... aber das letzte Mal überprüft ich etwa sieben war - fast acht - Fuß genau (I dunno... but the last time I checked I was about seven – almost eight – foot exactly)

**11.** Zurück etwa einen Monat, vielleicht zwei oder so. Geben oder nehmen ein paar Tage (Back about a month, maybe two or so. Give or take a few days)

**12.** Fünfzehn (fifteen)

**13.** Wirklich? Haben Sie nicht bemerken. Was ist in der Box? (Really? Didn't notice. What's in the box?)

**14.** Wow! ... Wo hast du das gefunden? (Where'd you find this?)

**15.** Dann wo hast du es bekommen? (Then where'd you get it?)

**16.** Aus Frankreich geliefert. Zu: Ulrich. Von: Franz und Aelita! (Delivered from France. To: Ulrich. From: Franz and Aelita!) ... Hoffnung genießen Sie den Geschenk, das wir für Sie gefunden. Denke nicht, dass wir hätten dich vergessen. Seien Sie gut für Splinter und Herr O'Neil. Wir hoffen, Sie bald zu besuchen. Liebe Franz und Aelita. PS: Hoffe, dass Sie die zusätzliche Gabe, die wir gerne für Sie hinterlassen (Hope you enjoy the gift we found for you. Don't think that we'd forget about you. Be good for Splinter and Mr. O'Neil. Hope to visit you soon. Love Franz and Aelita. PS: Hope you like the extra gift we left for you)

**17.** Danke, A (Thanks, A)

**18.** Ehrlich? Ich bezweifle es ernst (Truthfully? I seriously doubt it)


	2. Chapter 2

April lay on one of the old beaten-up couches of the Turtles' lair, slowly thumbing through brittle yellow pages of the thick paperback novel she held, her expression bored. Nearby, Mikey lay on the floor in front of the TV, eyes trained on the moving pictures of an old-school cartoon. Leo sat on the other couch, opposite to April, shining his katanas with an old cloth. The young teenage girl suddenly slammed the book shut and sat up, sighing. Leo looked over at her. "Something wrong, April?" She turned her head to look over at him.

"Hmm? Oh, no, everything's fine. Just bored out of my freakin' mind,"

"That makes two of us," Mikey said, sitting up; the chains to his nunchucks clanking loudly in the near dead-silent room. "Hey! Do you think that we could sneak up to the surface and snag some pizza?" Leo shook his head.

"Sorry, Mikey, but you know Master Splinter's rules about going out after dark," The bright gleam in the younger turtle's eyes dimmed and he scuffed at the floor with a finger, looking disappointed.

"Darn it,"

"Sorry, Mikey. Maybe next time,"

"If there is a next time," he mumbled, turning back to the TV screen, skinny shoulders hunched forward slightly. Leo just shook his head and sighed inaudibly before going back to cleaning the blade of his sword. April leaned back into the couch and let her gaze wander around the room, seeing the Turtles' pinball machine in the far right corner. She felt the weight of the heavy paperback lying against her stomach and she shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position. A loud _slam! _suddenly echoed through the still air, making all three teens jump.

"What the -?" started Leo.

"What in the heck was _that_!?" cried Mikey.

"I… I dunno." April replied. She slid the heavy paperback off of her stomach and sat up fully, her wide blue eyes gleaming in the near darkness, illuminated by nothing but the fluorescent glow of the television. "But, we better go and - " She suddenly fell silent as a soft humming began to echo through the room. _What in the -? What is that?_ she wondered. "Do you guys hear that?" she asked, turning to the two brothers sitting beside her. They nodded.

"Yeah. It sounded like -" The lights suddenly fizzed and went out with a loud crackle. Mikey screamed at the sudden darkness.

"Agh! Leo? April?" he called. "Where are you guys?"

"Right here, Mikey." Leo's voice came somewhere from April's right and she swallowed to wet her suddenly dry throat.

"W-What ha-happened?" asked Mikey.

"I-I dunno." replied Leo. "I think the lights went out."

"Oh. Okay."

"And I bet that Donnie had something to with it."

"Doesn't he always?" April replied somewhat dryly.

"Well…" Leo's sheepish chuckle made her giggle silently. "Now, that you mention it… he did once -" All at once his voice stopped mid-sentence and an eerie silence took hold of the room.

"Leo?" asked Mikey, voice wavering with barely contained fear.

"Leo?" April swung one of her arms out to the right and she flinched when she felt familiar scales against her hand. "Leo? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered. She blinked in confusion and shook her head, even though he couldn't see it.

"No. Why? What did you hear?"

"I dunno." he reluctantly admitted. "But is sounded like some sort of scraping sound." he quickly added as he heard her exasperated sigh.

"Scraping?"

"Yeah."

"Hm." April scratched her head in thought, confused. "What in the world could possibly be down here that could make a scraping noise?"

"Rocks against each on another?" Mikey piped.

"The sewer pipes." chipped in Leo.

"The wheels on our skateboards."

"Footsteps." The air suddenly went cold again and April shivered at the abrupt silence that followed Leo's words.

"F-Footsteps?" she weakly replied. "Oh, I'm _so _hoping what we heard was rocks falling or something." She absentmindedly rubbed her hands over her arms from where they were crossed over her chest.

"You and me both." Mikey replied.

"So, now what do we do?" asked April. "We can't just sit here and wait for the lights to come back on."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go look for Donnie and ask him to turn the lights back on."

"Good idea, Mikey." Leo replied. "April, ya coming?"

"Of course." she replied. "I'm not just gonna sit here in the dark waiting for the lights t-" A sudden loud clicking stopped the young girl from finishing her sentence. "Uh, g-guys... D-Did you hear that?"

"Uh-huh." Leo replied.

"That doesn't sound like rocks!" Mikey all but squealed as he latched onto his older brother's shell.

"Agreed."

"Then what do you think it is?" April asked, turning to where she last heard Leo's voice. The blue-banded turtle shrugged his shoulders, even though she couldn't see him, but before he could reply, a familiar husky voice with a thick accent called out from the darkness.

"_April? Leo? Mikey? Sie hier?_ " A trickle of warmth speared April's heart and she smiled as a wave of relief crashed over her.

"Ulrich!" she cried. "Over here! Near the TV." Another series of clicking was heard and before the trio knew it, a large humanoid brown wolf was standing before them, amber eyes glowing eerily in the sheer darkness.

"_Seid ihr okay_?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're good." April replied. "Just a little spooked about the lights goin' out."

"A _little_ spooked?!" Mikey cried. "Try '_a lotta spooked!'_" He waved his arms around for emphasis, although no one could see him due to their current situation (except for maybe Ulrich, since he's a wolf and all). Ulrich glared down at the young turtle's chicken impression and snorted.

"_Feigling_." he muttered.

"What was that, Ul?"

"_Kein Ding_." he replied.

"So, what happened?" Leo asked, chipping into the exchange before Mikey did something irrational and stupid (as usual) to upset the massive wolfling.

"_Ich weiß nicht_." Ulrich shrugged his furry shoulders. "_Ich war Donnie helfen mit einer seiner dummen Projekte, wenn die Lichter aus, wenn alle auf einmal_." He scratched furiously at an itch behind his ear, making his silver necklace jingle in the sheer emptiness of the room. "_Also, ich habe keine Ahnung, was los ist_." Leo and Mikey blinked from where they stood in front of the wolf before turning to where April was last standing to their right. The young girl rolled her eyes at their stares before translating.

"He said he doesn't know what happened. Just that he was helping Donnie out with something before the lights fizzed out all of a sudden."

"Oh, well, _that_ helps a bunch!" Mikey grumbled. Ulrich growled and smacked the youngest turtle upside the head with his massive paw. "Yowch! Hey, what was that for?" he cried. The wolf ignored him and tugged on the sleeve of April's t-shirt.

"_Komm, lass uns gehen, um Donnie Labor. Hoffentlich wird er in der Lage, einen Weg aus diesem Schlamassel heraus sein_." She nodded and tugged on Leo's arm in return.

"C'mon, you two. We're heading to Donnie's Lab."

"Why?" asked Leo.

"So, that he'll hopefully figure something out about this mess."

"Alright." He shrugged. "Mikey, ya comin'?"

"Heck yeah!" the orange-band replied. "I ain't staying here in the dark where something might be lurking. No, thank you."

"_Hier ist nichts, aber uns, Mikey, so darüber hinwegkommen_." Ulrich growled. "_Nun, lassen Sie uns gehen, bevor ich zu kauen jemandes Kopf ab_." he grunted. April giggled at his unhappy mumble and and followed after him, tugging on Leo's arm as she did so. Mikey raced after them as he heard the clicking of Ulrich's hindclaws against the cement flooring of the sewer.

* * *

**German **\- English

**April? Leo? Mikey? Sie hier?** (April? Leo? Mikey? Ya out there?)

**Seid ihr okay?** (You guys okay?)

**Feigling** (Coward)

**Kein Ding** (Nothing)

**Ich weiß nicht**. (I dunno)

**Ich war Donnie helfen mit einer seiner dummen Projekte, wenn die Lichter aus, wenn alle auf einmal.** (I was helping Donnie out with one of his stupid projects when the lights when out all of a sudden)

**Also, ich habe keine Ahnung, was los ist.** (So, I have no idea what's going on.)

**Komm, lass uns gehen, um Donnie Labor. Hoffentlich wird er in der Lage, einen Weg aus diesem Schlamassel heraus sein** (C'mon, let's head to Donnie's lab. Hopefully he'll be able to figure a way out of this mess.)

**Hier ist nichts, aber uns, Mikey, so darüber hinwegkommen.** (There's nothing here but us, Mikey, so get over it.)

**Nun, lassen Sie uns gehen, bevor ich zu kauen jemandes Kopf ab** (Now, let's get going before I chew somebody's head off.)


End file.
